'Pipe Band Ensemble'

Pipe Band Ensemble I was recently listening to a grade one mini band contest. The piping and drumming was of a very high technical standard and was being played well. However, for most of the pipe bands, the drum corp.'s contribution bore no resemblance to what the pipe corp. was playing. It neither flowed with the melody nor did it enhance any natural accents or rhythms of the tune. There was no sign of ensemble. I have heard more melodic performances played by some of the lower grade pipe bands.

In my opinion, pipe band ensemble is essentially governed by the actions of the drum corp. These comprise interpreting the natural structure of the tune and producing a drum composition that enhances the melody without dominating it and is, at the same time, interesting. Within this, there should be a wide application of dynamics, paying particular regard to the balance of the drums to the pipes, with correction for the venue. Finally, the whole effect adhering to the expression applied by the pipe Corp. This was described in the article in the Mar/Apr 1992 magazine entitled 'Adjudication'. About drumming it said "The composition of the percussion score to be highly complementary to the melody ..." and about ensemble "Good balance of instruments ..." and "All pieces elegantly expressed and played with sparkle". My own personal definition of ensemble is when I say 'what a good band that is' and not singling out one part as in 'did you hear that clever bit the tenor drums did'. After listening to an orchestra you don't leave saying 'well the bassoon played well tonight'.

In recent years I have noticed a move in drumming composition towards more and more complexity. I often feel that drummers are just trying to show how many difficult movements they can cram into a drum beating, the 'why play one beat when 100 will do' philosophy. Are they frightened of silence? I am not trying to say that the drum beatings should be simple, but rather they should be written to complement the tune. Have drummers forgotten that they are there to enhance what the pipers are doing, not destroy it (ie not drumming for drumming sake). A pipe band, after all, is a single entity playing harmoniously, not several separate bits fighting to be heard.

There is also a distinct lack of dynamics in these performances. The drum corp has the capability of variation of volume from silence to overpowering, but this seems to be unknown by most drum corps. These drum corps seem to think that loud is best, and louder is even better. Any dynamics that I have heard were usually being played too loud, ie no balance between pipes and drums. I have been at indoor contests where I could not hear the melody being played by the pipe corps, for the volume of the drums.

While I was leading drummer of the City of Dundee Pipe Band, I had a policy of ensemble effect before drumming content. This included applying dynamics and fully integrating drums with pipes. It did mean that I never won any drumming prizes, but the pipe band as a whole did and was usually well placed with regard to ensemble. I can show you examples of pipe bands with drummers that win drumming prizes but very little else. Some judges are not helping the situation. More than once I have had a crit which complained that there was not enough content. Obviously they had missed the point entirely.

What can be done about this situation? I think that this situation will not improve until more emphasis is put on ensemble. I would change the judging arrangements at major championships to be 1 piping judge, 1 drumming judge and 2 ensemble judges, and at minor contests 2 ensemble judges. They would have the following marks available: piping - 100, drumming - 25, ensemble - 200. This would, in my opinion, encourage more pipe band performances, as opposed to piping + drumming performances, thus producing a more pleasing effect for the people listening.

Billy McCombie
14 May 1992

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'Pipe Band Ensemble'